Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

One of the most interesting, subversive, heartbreaking, and thematically rich games ever created. Please go and play the entire series if you haven't already

Well yes I recommend it for Danganronpa fans since it's the more complete title yet, (if you didn't play the previous ones, don't buy it).

However I will warn you that this game will absolutely destroy your psyche beyond belief if you are a sensitive person. It's not only about the clever detective stuff and murder trials, it's the writing and existential aspect of it. It never happened to me before actually, dreaming about a game, but it has. Used to be only with mind bending films, so that alone should count for something in this video game medium.

Congrats to Team Danganronpa for creating such a piece of art.

an absolutely perfect conclusion to such a topsy-turvy story and universe with immense attention to detail, world-building, character development, and overall premise.

the environment is so unbelievably beautiful, I can't put it into words. the school's design is delicately crafted and fascinating and I oftentimes found myself getting lost in the beauty of it all. I was completely encapsulated by the stunning visual/graphical improvements made from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. graphically the game is astounding, especially for a visual novel. even the UI has such a sleek and modern sense of style compared to the previous two titles and is such a massive step-up, making the game feel far more alive just in the UI itself.

the story. is. amazing. this is the most well-thought out and well-written piece of fiction I've experienced in a long time. even in the first chapter (no spoilers), it completely threw my expectations coming out of the previous two games out of the water. each event has so much more weight and impact on the school and the characters in it than in any of the previous installments. I can vividly remember and associate certain events with certain characters even years after completing this game just because of how much of an impact they had on the characters and in the rest of the game world.

the character designs and narratives are so fascinating, creative, and fresh with so much detail and heart put into them. Korekiyo Shinguji has to be my favorite concept for a character, both in design and in personality. every character is dynamic and has several personal feelings explored and fleshed-out; there are no joke characters whatsoever (e.g. Hifumi Yamada from D:THH, Teruteru Hanamura from D2:GD).

the music is masterfully made and is the best soundtrack in the series. Masafumi Takada, who had worked on the music for every previous entry to the series (including the anime) really nailed the vibe of the game with the music for it. the soundtracks have always been impressive works of art by their own merit but this one really stood out to me as stellar, especially with how perfectly it intertwined with the tone of the game. it added to the experience tenfold.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is the most enjoyable in terms of gameplay. The trials are more intense and the music is incredible. However, it has the weakest story compared to the other main games. It's characters aren't as interesting as Danganronpa 2 but they are all very enjoyable.

This game is the most separated in terms of the story. It takes place in the same world but it doesn't reference the others until the end.

In this one, you play as Kaede Akamatsu, the "Ultimate Pianist". The first female protagonist in the main games. You start off waking up in a locker. You meet with the other students and you find out that you are in the "Ultimate Academy For Gifted Juveniles". You meet Monokuma and his Monokubs. And the killing game begins one last time.

The gameplay is mostly the same, but the class trials now let you lie. They introduce scrum debate as well. Which is when the class is divided on a certain argument.

This is the most bizarre and a must-play spoiler-free

the only good danganonpa game. love a game that actually challenges their audience into using their fuckin brains for once. the amount of joy I got out of seeing "team danganronpa" essentially tearing down their own cultural empire was like nothing else. additionally, the actual game is pretty great too!

The third entry in the Danganronpa Series and most people reading this review probably played the other two I guess.

The hardest part in designing a Danganronpa game is to find an ending: it's not easy to come up with a satisfying explanation of the whole killing game. I think the ending of DGRP1 worked out great, and I was deeply unsatisfied by the ending of DGRP2. For this third game, I think the ending was spot on, even though it makes it harder for the franchise to start again. Which is OK:since then, the series writer of Danganronpa and the series writer of Zero Escape have started a studio together, and everyone is waiting for their next games together.

Gameplaywise, it's similar to the previous games, and the murders and explanations are quite OK. What left me a bad taste in my mouth however is the amount of perv jokes in this game, which are frankly embarassing. To give just on example, because the whole writing is like this, there is someone calling a girl a "cum dumpster". So, yeah.. The writing becomes better after the offensive are killed off, but it almost ruined the game for me, and that's why I'll give the game only an average rating. Without the jokes, this could have been a 4.5/5 game.